Bruce Spangenberg column: Strategies to manage apple scab

Bruce Spangenberg column: Strategies to manage apple scab

Apple scab is one of the more common foliar diseases of trees and was a widespread problem across Wisconsin in 2024. Flowering crab apples and apples grown in orchards are prone to infection, which can cause most leaves to drop off the tree early. Managing this disease involves planning before the growing season resumes. Development of apple scab, caused by a fungus, is favored by cool, wet weather. Infection starts as leaves emerge from buds in…